Double Bass ehrlund contact pu-mike

[bassadder]

Having messed around I've come up with this a mounting suggestion for Ehrlund.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Laurence

 

[geoffbassist]

It looks pretty tidy to me. Is the Ehrlund mounted securely enough to leave on in the gig bag? I would love to use a mic, but I've always found it a lot of hassle. How's it gone on your gigs?
Cheers Geoff

 

[geoffbassist]

I think my main objection to mic's is having more than one unit to deal with. For me I find it too distracting on a gig.

 

[William Hoffman]

finally getting back to my experimenting with the ehrlund...

i am still really impressed with the natural sound i am getting with the ehrlund using the EA Doubler and the AI Ten2Ex. the sound of the gut strings is just too good to be true with this little thing. like unamped only louder, pure natural sounding. for most gigs, i wouldn't need anything more.

the thing with the ehrlund is getting it set up so the cable doesn't touch anything. if the cable can slop around, every time it touches something, it's audible. the worst is when the cable touches the top, making a loud clacking sound. i though there was a short in the amp, but no, it was the cable. anyway that's the problem you have to solve if you get one. not a big deal, but göran did not supply any solution there, so it's up to you.

i solved this issue for me with two pieces of self-adhesive velcro. after locating the sweet spot just south of the E bridge foot, i attached two little pieces of one strip on the backside of the tailpiece. using the other strip, i cut two pieces and stuck them on the cable itself about the same distance apart, maybe a little more. so i can now attache the ehrlund and the cable is held firmly about a quarter inch off to the side of the tailpiece.

am attaching some pictures. in the second pic you can also see the new "BassSpa" tailpiece Jake buddy made for me this last winter.

i liked bassadder's idea too, it certainly makes the whole issue go away. i just don't like to have too much metal hanging on my tailpiece. this way i still have next to nothing to weigh the tailpiece down. i will have to attach the ehrlund preamp either to my music stand or put it on the floor while i am playing.

cheers

 

[SRL]

After a couple of months worth of use of the EAP how are you finding it? Is it still the pickup to beat?

Also any problems with it detaching itself either whilst performing or in the gig bag afterwards?

 

[richhansen]

I say that the Ehrlund definitely is the pickup to beat.

 

[geoffbassist]

I'm intrested to know if users are able to use this all the time or if they have to keep a realist etc.. handy for loud gigs?
I would love to try one but am concerned about those loud big band gigs.

Anyone got experience using the ehurlund with a clarus and wizzy mline 12?

 

[William Hoffman]

After a couple of months worth of use of the EAP how are you finding it? Is it still the pickup to beat?

Also any problems with it detaching itself either whilst performing or in the gig bag afterwards?

mine is still on. i don't even take it off, just leave it stuck to the top and roll up the cord with a double-sided velcro strip and store the jack behind the TP.

i've used it with a mic now and then, and also by itself. it is very good, i cannot claim it is "the" pickup for eveyone, but imho it is more natural sounding than the Realist.

i haven't AB'd it with the Realist for gain before feedback, but my impression is it can go as loud as a Realist before feedback. i haven't had feedback with the Ehrlund. at all. but most of my gigs are not super loud.

cheers, Bill

 

[lurk]

where do I buy one

 

[geoffbassist]

Jonas lohse has a great site selling pickups

Invalid Link Removed

not sure if you need to buy the pre as well. Do EA/AI amp users bother with it?

Cheers Geoff

 

[Hcb]

You can buy it here:
http://www.ehrlund.se/

 

[Rick Middleton]

not sure if you need to buy the pre as well. Do EA/AI amp users bother with it?

Cheers Geoff

Does anybody know if you can use it without it's preamp.. or if the preamp comes with it?
In other words, will it plug directly into my Doubler??

I think the sound clips of this pickup are great - not as ultimately accurate as a DPA 4099 of course, but by what people are saying it will go really loud through backline and still sound a lot more like your bass than a piezo pickup. Maybe, just maybe it could supercede piezo pickups?

I want to try one
with a DPA 4099 too...

Now THAT, sounds like an interesting combination to me!!!
(I'd better get my old amp and 5 string bass guitar up for sale quick)

Would you guys who have these pickups please be really helpful and keep updating this thread with your thoughts and gigging experiences.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[William Hoffman]

Does anybody know if you can use it without it's preamp.. or if the preamp comes with it?
In other words, will it plug directly into my Doubler??

i think it is possible to use the ehrlund pickup without the ehrlund preamp. Göran wrote on his website: "Connect the microphone to the preamp or any other high ohm input."

you can buy them separately.

i haven't tried it without the ehrlund preamp. maybe an F-Deck would also do the job, i'll have to check that out.

sounds great with the doubler. using the preamp, that is. plugged it into Ch 1 and my mic into Ch 2. for my low-volume gigs, this is a fantastic set up.

 

[Rick Middleton]

i haven't tried it without the ehrlund preamp. maybe an F-Deck would also do the job, i'll have to check that out.

sounds great with the doubler. using the preamp, that is. plugged it into Ch 1 and my mic into Ch 2. for my low-volume gigs, this is a fantastic set up.

Hey William, have you had chance to try the Ehrlund either with just the F-Deck HFPre or straight into the Doubler yet?
If it works well with either of these, then it would be a waste of time and money buying the Ehrlund it's own preamp.

Also, is there any chance you could make a sound clip of the Erhlund at a gig with a drummer please?
Maybe taking a line out from your doubler (the tuner out if you are using the DI for the FOH)

I am really keen on the Ehrlund, but my local music shop obviously won't have one that I can try, so I need

Rick

 

[Gary Lynch]

So what is the total cost by the time it arrives at your door in the USA?

 

[stanhamrick]

This sounds like its worth a try, but I am foggy re ohms and pre-amps. Shouldn't the Ehrlund Acoustic Pickup (EAP) work well without a pre-amp with a Clarus plus Wizzy cab?

Also, looks like a US dealer has them. see:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Stan
Link Removed

 

[Rick Middleton]

I decided to ask Goran himself about this preamp situation...

Will the EAP work well into either an Euphonic Audio Doubler (1 Meg Ohm impedance) or Francis Deck's HF-Pre (10 Meg Ohm impedance)
Kind Regards, Rick Middleton

And Goran's reply was....

I cant give you any garanties without the preamp and if you use the bow you must have my preamp. The price for the pickup only is 2500 so you get the premp very cheap.
Best wishes Göran Ehrlund

It was great to get this reply from Goran, but I am one of those people who like to know "WHY?". And this is perhaps one of the things that puts me off this pickup. I have read through the US Patent that was linked earlier in this thread, and that describes capacitor microphone capsules - which leads me to suspect that drurb was right when he suggested the EAP may be an electret.

We do know that Rich and Bill are using the EAP with the preamp and are very satisfied with their results.

Maybe that is all I really need to know....

Rick

 

[William Hoffman]

Rick, am traveling just now and have no possibility to provide sound clips. But there are some sound clips on Göran's website that he said were raw sound clips.

I like the Ehrlund because of the natural sound it gives me coming out of the Doubler-Ten2Ex set up I am using with my "gut" bass. I haven't been able to get such a good gut sound with my other amps and cabs. I personally don't think you're making a mistake by trying it, but your experience with it may be different. Please post your impressions...

 

[richhansen]

I can say that Goran is great to deal with. He told me that if I didn't like the EAP pickup or his preamp that I could send either or both back and he would refund the money for whichever component I didn't like. The output is better with his preamp, and having the volume control is also helpful, but I have also tried the EAP with other preamps, and it works fine. I would totally recommend that you buy his pickup with his preamp, mainly for the control that it gives you. If you don't like the preamp, or don't think that it is adding anything to your sound you can send it back to Goran. But with your bass, you won't really know how the system performs optimally until you try it with and without the pre.

The sound of the EAP is just like a microphone, so if that's what you are looking for (without the crummy feedback that mics have) then buy this system with the preamp and try it out both ways. The only bummer about the EAP is that, as others have mentioned, you have microphonic noise from the cable every time the cable moves or touches anything. The way I have rectified this is to attach the preamp behind the tailpiece and bow quiver with velcro, and roll up the cable from the EAP with a rubber band (tucked inside my bow quiver) so it cannot touch anything, and I just plug a cord from the preamp into my amp whenever I want to plug in, and it totally solves the noise problem. I also don't have to mess around with attaching and detaching things. I just show up to a gig, plug the cord from the preamp into my amp, and my sound is there. It looks totally clean, since you can't see the preamp or cables that are neatly tucked behind the tailpiece and quiver.

It does take a bit of messing around, positioning the EAP to find the sweetest spot tone wise, but it's totally worth it in my opinion. Once you've found your spot, you just keep it there, and you're done messing with it. I've A-B'd this thing against my Full Circle and Rev Solos, and it's so amazing how much better and more "acoustic" it sounds than any piezo. For me, it's a relief to be finished with trying so many pickups and mic systems, since this system just works and the sound of my bass is always there without the feedback. I've tried so many pickups, it was just getting to be a real drag. This has solved my problems with tone. I've also recorded with this, comparing it directly to a condenser mic, and for pizz, I actually liked the sound of the EAP better than the condenser. With Arco, the condenser had a little more harmonic complexity, but with a little eq, the sound of the EAP was fantastic as well.
This really is a unique and wonderful product, and I am surprised that more DB players haven't got their hands on these things yet, because they just sound so good, and it solves the problems inherent in amplyifing a double bass.

 

[Rick Middleton]

Ahh, Rich.. I was hoping you would give some more words of wisdom on the Ehrlund You have really made me interested in the EAP, especially as your GAS says about finding a pickup system that actually sounds like your bass!

I can say that Goran is great to deal with. He told me that if I didn't like the EAP pickup or his preamp that I could send either or both back and he would refund the money for whichever component I didn't like.

Yeah Goran seems like a nice guy to me from the communications I have had with him.

The output is better with his preamp, and having the volume control is also helpful, but I have also tried the EAP with other preamps, and it works fine. I would totally recommend that you buy his pickup with his preamp, mainly for the control that it gives you.

You're using a Markbass amp aren't you Rich? Their input impedance is only 500K Ohms I think, so the Erhlund would need some preamp before that... What other preamps have you tried it with? And what differences did you notice? I have had hints that maybe Ehrlunds Preamp has some kind of EQ curve built into it.. is this your experience?

I emailed Jonas Lohse about the Ehrlund and asked him if it would work well without its own preamp into a Doubler or F-Deck HF Pre. He replied....

yes, it will. I’ve tried the Ehrlund with a couple of preamps or amps with high-impedance input. The advantage of the Ehrlund preamp is that you don’t need to dial with the EQ that much, since it’s designed for the Ehrlund pickup.

As I mentioned in my earlier post I like to know WHY? and WHAT? things are doing... maybe that's the Physicist in me talking

The sound of the EAP is just like a microphone, so if that's what you are looking for (without the crummy feedback that mics have) then buy this system with the preamp and try it out both ways.

Of course Rich - this is the Holy Grail....like a mic but without the feedback! AMEN to that.

I've A-B'd this thing against my Full Circle and Rev Solos, and it's so amazing how much better and more "acoustic" it sounds than any piezo. For me, it's a relief to be finished with trying so many pickups and mic systems, since this system just works and the sound of my bass is always there without the feedback. I've tried so many pickups, it was just getting to be a real drag. This has solved my problems with tone. I've also recorded with this, comparing it directly to a condenser mic, and for pizz, I actually liked the sound of the EAP better than the condenser. With Arco, the condenser had a little more harmonic complexity, but with a little eq, the sound of the EAP was fantastic as well.
This really is a unique and wonderful product, and I am surprised that more DB players haven't got their hands on these things yet, because they just sound so good, and it solves the problems inherent in amplyifing a double bass.

Listening to the soundclips of the Ehrlund it appears a hundred times more natural soudning and "mic-like" than my Realist does raw, but it doesn't seem to have quite the sparkle of a good mic like say the DPA4099.... but perhaps with a bit of EQ it could be pretty close...

I hate to hassle people... but.. is there any chance you could record the Ehrlund raw signal at a drummer gig Rich? Pretty please

At the moment I just can't decide whether to get a Ehrlund, or a DPA 4099... maybe I'll just have to buy them both to find out which is best. .... I'd better hope my eBay auctions go well this evening......

Rick